University of Virginia Library

Howe Agamenon rememberde al his princes of the vngodely answeres that Anthenor had of them when he desyerd to haue had restitucyoun of Exiona, wherupon they sent Vlixes and Dyomede to Priamus, to haue restitucioun of quene Heleyne.

“Sirs,” quod he, “ful worþi of degre,
Of verray riȝt and necessite
We be compelled, boþe hiȝe & lowe,
With al oure myȝt, liche as ȝe wel knowe,
To redresse a þing þat is amys:
For þoruȝ þe world, as it reportid is,
We ben of force, of power, & of myȝt,
Of worþines in euery wiȝttes syȝt
Most renomed & most worschipable,
And I-dempte & Iuged for most able
Of alle peples, & likliest to stonde
For to parforme what we take on honde,
Who þat euere grucche[þ] or sey[þ] nay.
Ȝit, me semeth, ȝif it be to ȝour pay,
Þilke power most is acceptable
Vn-to goddis, & lengest stondeþ stable,
Þat is deuoide of surquidie & pride;
For it is kouþe vppon euery syde,
In eche lond, boþe of oon and alle,
How many harmys & grevis han be-falle
Þoruȝ rancour only, pride, & wilfulnes,
So importable, as I coude expresse,
Þat þoruȝ pride þer is don offence;
Þe hiȝe goddis make resistence
To alle þo þat be surquedous,
Whiche is a vice so contrarius
Þat it may in no place abide.
And in good feith, manhood is no pride:
For who þat hath any acqueintaunce,
Ouþer by frenschip or by alyaunce,
With a prowde man, to be confederat
Wiþ hym in herte, of hiȝe or lowe estat,
He nedis muste, what-euer þat he be,
To many oþer of necessite
Be lothsom first, enmy & contraire;
For no þing may a man so moche apaire
As pride, in soth, in hiȝe or lowe degre.
Wherfore, I rede pleinly how þat we
Þis foule vice oute of our hert arrace,
Þat our quarel may haue þe more grace;
And specially þat oure dedis alle
Conveied ben, how-euer þat it falle,
Be riȝtwesnesse more þan volunte:
For ȝif trouþe oure sothfast guyde be,
Vs to directe by his riȝtful lyne,
Þan oure quarel schal ay in honour schine
And contvne in ful felicite.
And, ferþermore, þis knowen alle ȝe,
How we ar come for to do vengaunce,
With oure frendschip and oure alliance,
Vp-on Priam for wrongis don of olde
By hym and hyse, as I haue ofte tolde;
And here-vp-on we han his grounde I-take,
And some of his maked to a-wake
With manful honde, & his castellis strong
I-bete doun, þat stonden haue so longe,
And take þere þe riches þat we founde,
And slawe his men with many blody wounde,
And harmys mo don in his contre,
Þat I wot wel, ȝif her enmyte
Was vn-to vs gret & moche a-fore,
I dar seie now it is in double more;
Þat ȝif þat þei avenged myȝt[e] be
On vs echon, anon ȝe schulde se
Her gret Ire, so cruel & so huge,
Ben execute with-oute more refuge.
And ȝit, in soth, I wote þei han espied
Oure beyng here—þouȝ we be nat askried
Of hem as ȝit, I dar seyn outterly,
Þei are wel war þat we ar fast[e] by;
And ouer-more, þis wote I wel also,
Of þe harmys þat we han hem do,
Þe whiche as ȝit ben but fresche & grene,
Ȝif þei wer strong & myȝti to sustene,
A werre on vs anon þei wolde gynne.
And ȝit þe cite whiche þei ben Inne
Is wallid strong & tourid rounde aboute,
Þat þei wene fully, oute of doute,
With þe meyne þat þei haue gadrid Inne
Of her alies, þat we schal nat wynne
Of hem but smal in werre nor in strif:
For he in sothe hath a prerogatyf
And a-vauntage, þat in his contre
Hym silfe diffendith; namly, ȝif þat he
Be stuffid strong of frendis hym be-side,
And of allies, where he doth abyde;
Like as þe rauen, with his feþeres blake,
With-Inne his nest wil ofte tyme make
Ageyn þe faukon—gentil of nature—
Ful harde diffence whil[e]s he may dure,
Or þat he be venquissched & outtraied.
And ȝit som while þe faukon is delaied,
Whils þe raven be-syde his nest doþ fle,
With-Inne his couert at his liberte;
As euery foule is froward to arest,
For to be daunted in his owne nest.
And ȝit þis wordis to ȝou I nat sey
In any wyse to putten in affray
Ȝoure knyȝtly hertis, so manly & so stable,
Nor þat to ȝou it schulde be doutable,
But þe Troiens þat we schal confounde,
And her cite, in whiche þei habounde,
Pleinly distroie, al-þouȝ þat it be strong,
And þei & alle þat ben hem among
Schal finally consumpt[e] be with deth,
Þoruȝ Grekis swerde ȝelden vp þe breth.
But þe cause, with-outen any drede,
Why I seye þus, is þat ȝe take hede,
For any pride or presumpcioun,
To aduerte in ȝoure discrecioun
So prudently, þat resoun in þis nede
For any hast may oure bridel lede,
And so ordeyn, or we hen[ne]s wende,
Þat laude & pris aftir in þe ende
May be reported, as I haue deuised:
For many man þat hath nat ben avised,
In his pursut, for lak of prouidence
To sen to-forn in his aduertence
What schulde falle, to deth it haþ him brouȝt:
Swiche wilful hast wer good to be þoȝt
Of vs a-forn be examynacioun,
And wel deduct by reuolucioun
Of þingkyng ofte, þat we nat repente.
And first remembriþ how þat Priam sente
To vs but late only for Exyoun,
Þat is ȝit holde of kyng Thelamoun,
Whiche was of vs, with-oute avisement,
Vndiscretly denyed by assent;
Whiche hath to vs be non avauntage,
But grounde & rote of ful gret damage.
For ȝif þat we, þoruȝ wys purviaunce,
Of hir had maked delyueraunce,
Þe harmys grete had[de] ben eschewed,
Þat aftir wern of Parys so pursewed
In the temple of Cytherea,
Þat bilded is be-side Cirrea—
Þe tresour gret, also, þat he hadde,
And Iowellis þat he wiþ hym ladde
Þene to Troie, and þe gret riches,
Þe slauȝtre of men, and þe heuynes
Þat ȝit is made for þe quene Eleyne
Þoruȝ-oute Grece, & þe gret[e] peyne
Of Menelay—al had ben vnwrouȝt
Ȝif we had[de] seyn þis in oure þouȝt
Wisely aforn, and Exyoun restored.
Þan had nat þe harmys be so morid
On vs echon, in verray sothfastnes,
Nor spent oure labour so in ydelnes,
Tresour nor good wasted so in veyn,
Nor come so fer for to fecche ageyn
Þe quene Eleyne, with costis importable,
With-oute harmys, now in-eschuable:
And for al þis, ȝit ne wite we,
Wheþer to Ioye or aduersite
Þe þing schal turne þat we be aboute,
Sith ofte sithe dependent & in doute
Is fatal þing, vnsiker & vnstable,
And fro þe gynnyng ofte variable
Þe ende is seyn: Fortune can transmewe
Hir gery cours; & þerfore, to eschewe
Þe harmys likly possible [for] to falle,
My conseil is, here among ȝow alle,
Vp-on trauail traueil to eschewe,
In þis mater or we ferþer swe,
To Priamus, with-outen any more,
To sende first ageyn [for] to restore
Þe quene Eleyne, as riȝt & resoun is,
And oþer harmys don eke be Parys,
Aftir his trespas & offencioun
Iustly to make restitucioun.
Þan may we alle in worschip & honour
Retournen hom, wiþ-oute more labour,
Ȝif þei assent to don as we require;
And oure axyng ȝif hem list nat here,
But folily, of her wilfulnes
Refusen it, þan oure worþines
Is double assured on a siker grounde,
By iust[e] title Troyens to confounde.
Wiþ þinges two we schal ben vnder-piȝt:
First oure power, borne vp with our riȝt,
Schal for vs fiȝt our quarel to dareyne,
In balaunce to weye atwixe vs tweyne
To fyn þat we schal be more excusid;
For þei to-forn han wilfully refusid
Oure iust proferes made to hem a-fore;
And we schal be þoruȝ þe world, þer-fore,
With-oute spot of trespace or of blame,
Of mysreport in hyndring of our name,
Wher þei of foly schal y-noted be,
Of wilful wodnes, pleinly, wher þat we
Schal stond[e] fre oure power for to vse;
And euery man schal vs wel excuse,
Þouȝ þat we doon execucioun
Be takyng vengaunce for her offencioun
Of man and childe, of eche sect and age,
Þat schal of deth holde þe passage,
And be þe swerd, with-outen mercy, pace,
Oon and oþer,—þer is no better grace.
But ȝit to-forn, I conseil takeþ hede
Þat ȝe to hem al[le] mesour bede:
Þis hold I best and most sikirnes;
And werketh now be good avisenes
Among ȝour silf, and no lenger tarie.”
To whiche conseil some wern contrarie
And variaunt to þis oppinioun,
Saue þei þat wer of moste discrecioun
Assentid ben pleinly to þis ende,
And chosen han to Priam for to sende
Amongis hem then bassiat to spede,
Wyse Vlixes & worþi Dyamede.
Þe whiche anon gan hem redy make,
And schop hem furþe and her weie take
Toward Troye, as any lyne riȝt,
Whan þe sone schon ful schene & briȝt,
Holdyng þe cours of his fyry spere
In mydday arke, wonder briȝt & clere,
And gilt eche hil, vale, pleyn, & roche
With his bemys, whan þei did aproche
To þe wallis & gatis of þe toun.
And in þei goon with-oute noyse or sown,
Ful wel be-seyn, & in her port hem hadde
Riȝt manfully; and þe wey hem ladde
To þe paleis, streiȝt as any lyne—
Hem nedeth nat a-side to decline,
But in-to a courte large, wyde, & square.
And þei ful knyȝtly for no wyȝt wolde spare
Vn-to theffect manly to procede
To don her charge, with-oute fere or drede;
For þe entre was to hem not refusid:
For þo dayes paraunter was nat vsid
To haue [no] conduit for embassatrie;
Þe custom was to no man to denye,
As I suppose, entre nor passage,
Ȝif it so wer he come for massage.